


á vængjum lagið (on the wings of song)

by etched_radius (suiqune)



Category: Dragonriders of Pern - Anne McCaffrey, Iron Man - All Media Types, Thor - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, F/M, Incest, M/M, Pairings and Characters to be added as they come in, because i'm an asshole thats why, main pairing only added because some people hate incest, to avoid giving away where the fic is going
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-02
Updated: 2016-01-01
Packaged: 2018-05-11 01:22:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5608417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suiqune/pseuds/etched_radius
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It starts with a song.</p>
            </blockquote>





	á vængjum lagið (on the wings of song)

Thor groaned from his place on the floor, fingers pressed to the wound in his shoulder. Blood seeped from it despite his best efforts, matting his hair and staining his clothes.

“That’ll teach you, _boy_ ,” Holder Stane spat out, the hunting knife stained with Thor’s blood held in his hand still. Thor’s own knife, significantly smaller, was by Stane’s feet.

There were no sounds in the hall beyond the harsh pants of Thor’s breaths - Thor was regarded as one of the strongest warriors in Asgard Hold and no one, least of all Thor, had expected him to lose.

_If it had been a fair fight_ , Thor thought to himself between the blinding pulses of pain that came with his heartbeat, _I would not have lost_.

Holder Obadiah Stane had shown up in Asgard unexpectedly several hours before, waving some hidebound piece of music around and yelling about treachery and lowborn behaviour - they had all been understandably confused, until they read the ballad.

It was a tale of forbidden love between a fiery haired maiden and a man with a golden mane and eyes of lightning, speaking of hidden meetings and stolen kisses. _More_ than just kisses - the maiden with hair of fire and eyes like the sky turned out to be Holder Stane’s beloved daughter Pepper, who, when confronted about the ballad, had proven to be _pregnant_. It seemed that her counterpart in the song was thought to be Thor, who could not have claimed to have laid eyes on her beyond a few banquets.

Not that anyone believed his denials, beyond his mother. And then there was nothing to be done but duel about it, a duel which Stane had insisted happen immediately, to prevent Thor from running off, of course. It was one insult too many, and Thor had pulled his boot knife and agreed.

The hunting knife Stane had carried proved too much for him, despite his skill in battle, and now Thor was subject to the ruling of a man who was not his father. A man who was proclaiming that nothing but his banishment from Asgard Hold, his home and his family, would satisfy the honor of himself and his daughter.

Thor barely choked back a sob.

_Men do not cry_ , his father’s voice repeated in his head, words said the day that his brother Loki had been sent away to the Harper Hall, tears streaming down his face as he clung to their mother and begged to not be sent away. He had been a boy of only seven summers to Thor’s nine and Thor had not understood then why his brother was being made to leave. Time had not been kind to his innocence, words whispered in corridors speaking of infidelity between the Lady Holder and Lord Laufey, who had never taken wife.

They will speak of Thor now, instead, who cannot begrudge his mother the peace such will bring in the absence of her children. Children she will likely never see again.

Tears sting his eyes despite his best efforts.

* * *

He had been allowed to see a Healer and collect his things before his father had personally escorted him to the stables. He had bid his mother goodbye in the rooms where the Healer tended his wound, the deep gash requiring stitches and an herbal paste which the Healer had pressed into his hands with a look of sympathy on her face when she finished bandaging it.

His father’s favorite mount was waiting for him, saddled in serviceable tack with several packs attached. Sleipnir was the arguably the most valuable mount in Asgard’s stables, a sleek black stallion valued both for his speed and stamina as well as for stud. Thor’s eyes sting again. His father is not a demonstrative man, but this - the gift of his prized mount - speaks more to Thor than any words could.

“I do not know the truth of the ballad’s words, Thor, and I do not care to. Know you are always my son,” Odin said softly, pressing a bulging pouch of tokens into Thor’s hand. “Go in safety, Thor.”

It hurts that his father does not give credit to Thor’s denials. Thor has no reputation of such things in this hold or any - no maids who claim he gave them a blessed night or a blond-haired child that they needed money to care for. There are not even young men who speak around the fact that they shared his bedroll on long hunts. Thor may not be the most subtle of men, but he is not a fool. Such appetites lead to trouble and he had done his best to be discreet on both counts.

Then again, his father had been willing to believe that his loving wife was willing to share another’s bed, so maybe Thor shouldn’t be so surprised. His father is a fair and just ruler, but that does not mean that he displays the same qualities in his private life. He has always been harsh and demanding of Thor - of Loki, too, before he was sent away - unwilling to tolerate weakness or failure.

Thor steels his heart and does not watch his father leave, instead swinging himself up onto his new mount and clicking his tongue to send the horse out the open stable doors. Sleipnir’s gait is smooth and eats at the ground beneath them, taking them sailing out of the Hold’s courtyard and down through the surrounding town in no time at all. He ignores the way all talk quiets as he rides past, holding his head high and keeping his eyes ahead.

No matter what has happened, he is still a noble son. He will not let this break him. No more than his mother had let herself be broken by the vile lies spoken about her, nor Loki, who had made a name of himself in the Harper Halls within months of settling there. The way his father will not let himself be broken by the lost of his Heir. Thor can do no less than his family, no matter that he is banished.

He will be Odinson now, instead of claiming the title of Asgard. And he will be better for it if it kills him.


End file.
